Things to Do With Kids in Singapore: Family-Friendly Fun for All Ages

TLDR: Singapore is genuinely one of the best cities in the world to travel with children. Wildlife parks, water playgrounds, dinosaur exhibitions, rooftop views, and a food scene that keeps even the fussiest eaters happy. Here are 20 things to do with kids in Singapore — from brand-new 2026 attractions to the classics families keep coming back for.

Travelling with kids is a lot of things. Relaxing isn’t always one of them. But Singapore makes it easier than almost any other city in Asia — it’s safe, clean, easy to navigate, and genuinely packed with things that children find exciting rather than just things adults drag them to.

Whether you’re a local looking for weekend ideas or a tourist planning your first family trip here, this list covers 20 of the best things to do with kids in Singapore. Some are free. Some require planning ahead. All of them are worth it.

1. Eat Together at Akasa — North Indian Fine Dining for the Whole Family

A good family meal in Singapore isn’t hard to find. A great one that actually works for everyone at the table — kids included — is rarer.

Akasa at CapitaSky on Robinson Road is the answer for an Indian restaurant in singapore. Chef Akhilesh Pathak’s kitchen builds dishes from North Indian royal kitchen recipes, and the team genuinely accommodates families without making it feel like a compromise. Spice levels are adjusted on request. Smaller portions work for younger children. The vegetarian menu — Palak Lessoni, Dal Tadka, paneer dishes — covers family members who don’t eat meat without falling back on boring options. Jain and Sattvic meals are available too.

The room is warm and comfortable with indoor and alfresco seating. High chairs are available. After a long day of activities, settling in here for a proper dinner is the kind of thing kids remember too — not just adults.

• Address: 79 Robinson Road, #01-03 CapitaSky, Singapore 068897
• MRT: Tanjong Pagar (EW15), Exit A
• Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11:30am – 10:30pm
• Best for: Family dinners, celebrations, groups with mixed dietary needs
• Book: akasa.sg

Akasa also has a kids-friendly restaurant Singapore guide on their blog if you want more family dining ideas in the area.

2. Singapore Zoo — Still the Best Wildlife Day Out

The Singapore Zoo runs on an open-concept design where animals live in naturalistic enclosures, not cages. That sounds like a subtle difference until you’re standing three metres from a free-roaming orangutan and realising it very much isn’t.

KidzWorld on the eastern end of the Zoo is specifically built for younger children — splash pads, a petting zoo with goats and sheep, and small rides. The Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife event on weekend mornings lets families eat surrounded by animals that wander through the pavilion. Kids come away from the Singapore Zoo different from how they arrived. That’s the standard it sets.

• Address: 80 Mandai Lake Road, Mandai Wildlife Reserve
• Entry: From $48/adult; children under 3 free
• Best time: Open at 8:30am — go early before the heat peaks
• Tip: Combo tickets with Night Safari or Rainforest Wild Asia save money

3. Rainforest Wild Asia — Brand New in 2025

Asia’s first wildlife adventure park opened at Mandai in March 2025 and it’s already one of the most talked-about things to do with kids in Singapore. Thirteen hectares of recreated Southeast Asian rainforest — zones inspired by the Mulu Caves of Sarawak, limestone cliffs, dense forest floors, and rainforest canopies. Families spot Malayan tigers, langurs, and pangolins on elevated boardwalk trails.

For families who want more adventure, add-on experiences like via ferrata climbing and canopy jumps are available. Time Out named it one of the world’s best new things to do in 2025. Worth the trip on its own.

• Address: Mandai Wildlife Reserve, 80 Mandai Lake Road
• Entry: From $48/adult; combo tickets available
• Best for: Kids of all ages, nature-curious families, active travellers

4. Curiosity Cove — Singapore’s Largest Indoor Nature Playscape

Opened November 2025 at Mandai Wildlife East, Curiosity Cove is specifically designed for children aged 12 and under. Four nature-themed zones — Wetlands, Forestlands, Grasslands, and Drylands — with 30 multi-sensory touchpoints that blend physical play with digital interactive elements.

Kids crawl through a snake’s belly, climb an orangutan tree-bed platform, and trigger sounds by shaking hanging vines. It’s the kind of space where parents end up sitting on the floor joining in. Entry for one adult is included with each child ticket.

• Where: Mandai Wildlife East, 80 Mandai Lake Road
• Entry: $48 per child (3-12), one adult free
• Hours: 10am – 6:30pm (allocated timeslots)
• Best for: Ages 3-12

5. Singapore Oceanarium — Three Times Bigger and Worth It

Reopened July 2025 as a completely rebuilt attraction — now three times the size of the old SEA Aquarium. Twenty-two immersive marine zones take families from ancient oceans to deep-sea trenches. The jellyfish exhibit is the world’s largest of its kind. Giant viewing panels, suspended climbing nets, interactive exhibits, and the Research and Learning Centre for older children who want to go deeper.

Kids who’ve been to the old SEA Aquarium won’t recognise this. It’s a genuinely different experience.

• Address: 8 Sentosa Gateway, Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa Island
• Best for: Marine life enthusiasts, families with curious kids of any age

6. Universal Studios Singapore — Minion Land and More

The only Universal Studios in Southeast Asia and still one of the best things to do with kids in Singapore for a full action-packed day. Minion Land opened in 2025 inside the Despicable Me zone. Super Nintendo World with the Mario Kart ride is also now running.

For younger children: Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase and the Fairy Godmother’s Carousel. For older kids and adults who admit it: Transformers The Ride and Jurassic World Raptor Encounter. A full day here goes quickly.

• Address: 8 Sentosa Gateway, Resorts World Sentosa
• Entry: From $83/adult; lower for children
• Tip: Buy online — weekend walk-up queues at the gate are long

7. Gardens by the Bay — Free Water Play Included

The Supertrees and the paid domes get all the attention, but the Far East Organization Children’s Garden inside Gardens by the Bay is free and one of the best water play areas in Singapore. Fountains, splash pads, a 130-metre nature trail, rope walks, and treehouses. The garden closes Mondays.

For the full Gardens by the Bay family day: water play in the morning, lunch at one of the nearby cafés, Cloud Forest dome in the afternoon, stay on for the OCBC Garden Rhapsody light show at 7:45pm.

• Address: 18 Marina Gardens Drive
• Children’s Garden: Free (closed Mondays)
• Cloud Forest and Flower Dome: From $28/adult
• Good to know: Kids under 3 enter domes free

8. Jewel Changi Airport — Rain Vortex and More

Not just an airport. The Rain Vortex — 40 metres, world’s tallest indoor waterfall — drops from the glass roof of a 10-storey dome. Canopy Park on the top floor has bouncing nets, walking nets, a hedge maze, and mirror mazes. The Slide@T3 at Terminal 3 is free with app membership and drops kids down Singapore’s tallest indoor slide.

A full Jewel afternoon with the Canopy Park activities and a meal inside keeps kids genuinely busy for four to five hours.

• MRT: Changi Airport (EW29)
• Jewel entry: Free; Canopy Park from ~$12/activity
• Slide@T3: Free with Changi Airport Group app
• Best for: All ages, rainy days, families with energy to burn

9. Science Centre Singapore — Full Day of Hands-On Learning

Over 1,000 interactive exhibits across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The current Dinosaurs | Extinctions | Us exhibition is the biggest dinosaur display the centre has ever run — 3,000sqm covering 400 million years of Earth history. The Dino Explorer Pass adds an Omni-Theatre film and a Dig Pit where kids act as junior palaeontologists.

KidsSTOP, the attached space designed for under-8s, has STEAM-themed play zones across different domains. Families consistently say they underestimate how long they’ll spend here.

• Address: 15 Science Centre Road, Jurong East
• MRT: Jurong East (EW24 / NS1)
• Entry: From $15/adult; various combo tickets available
• Best for: Curious kids, school-age children, families who like to learn while playing

10. Singapore Botanic Gardens — Free and Genuinely Beautiful

A UNESCO World Heritage Site with 82 hectares of walking paths, Swan Lake, and the National Orchid Garden. Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden (closed Mondays) has a treehouse with slides, a sandpit, rope walks, and a water play area themed around the water cycle. COMO Adventure Grove is the other playground at the opposite end of the gardens.

Free to enter. Worth going early on a weekday when it’s quiet, the temperature is manageable, and you’re likely to spot hornbills and large monitor lizards on the paths.

• MRT: Botanic Gardens (CC19 / DT9)
• Entry: Gardens and Jacob Ballas free; Orchid Garden $15/adult
• Best time: 7am–10am

11. Night Safari — After Dark at Mandai

The world’s first nocturnal zoo and one of those experiences children remember for years. The tram takes families through enclosures housing lions, leopards, tapirs, fishing cats, and dozens of other species that only become active after dark. The Walking Trails add animals you can see on foot between tram sections. The Creatures of the Night show at the outdoor amphitheatre is free with entry.

The darkness changes everything. Kids who’ve been to the Singapore Zoo during the day and think they’ve seen it all are usually surprised by how different this feels.

• Address: 80 Mandai Lake Road
• Entry: From $55/adult
• Opens: 7:15pm; last entry 11pm
• Tip: Combine with a Zoo visit earlier in the day for the full Mandai experience

12. River Wonders — Giant Pandas and the Amazon Boat Ride

The world’s largest freshwater wildlife park at Mandai. The Amazon River Quest boat ride goes through a section of the park past giant fish, manatees, and capybaras — the queue can be long but kids consistently rate it as the highlight. The Giant Panda Forest has Kai Kai and Jia Jia, Singapore’s resident giant pandas.

Mostly shaded and stroller-friendly, making it a practical choice for families with toddlers even in Singapore’s heat.

• Address: 80 Mandai Lake Road
• Entry: From $42/adult; children under 3 free
• Best for: Toddlers through teens, families who want manageable walking distances

13. Bird Paradise — Up Close With Incredible Birds

Moved from Jurong Bird Park to Mandai in 2023 and expanded significantly. Over 3,500 birds across massive walk-through aviaries. The Egg Splash water playground — revamped and reopened in 2025 — has zones for ages 2-5 and 6-12 separately. The Sky Amphitheatre bird shows run daily.

Combining Bird Paradise with River Wonders on the same day is doable and makes sense logistically — both are at Mandai, combo tickets are available.

• Address: 20 Mandai Lake Road
• Entry: From $48/adult
• Egg Splash: Included with entry

14. ArtScience Museum — FutureWorld is Free for Kids on Fridays

The Future World: Where Art Meets Science permanent installation is an immersive digital art environment that children move through rather than just look at. Rooms where the floor becomes a digital ocean, spaces where your body creates shapes and sounds, collaborative art installations that respond to multiple children at once.

Children under 12 enter free on Fridays with a paying adult. Worth timing your visit accordingly.

• Address: 6 Bayfront Avenue, Marina Bay Sands
• Entry: From $20/adult; children free on Fridays
• Hours: Daily 10am – 7pm
• Best for: Creative kids, rainy days near Marina Bay

15. Admiralty Park — 27 Slides and a Zip Line

One of Singapore’s most popular free playgrounds and completely worth the MRT ride north. Twenty-seven slides of different sizes, types, and speeds plus a zip line and multiple swing sets. The playground occupies multiple levels of a hill so different sections suit different ages.

Go early on a weekend — it gets busy by 9:30am. Bring water and sunscreen. This is one of those things to do with kids in Singapore that costs nothing and delivers completely.

• MRT: Admiralty (NS10) — short walk
• Entry: Free
• Best time: Weekdays before 9am or weekends before 9am

16. iFly Singapore — Indoor Skydiving on Sentosa

A wind tunnel simulates freefall without the altitude. iFly accepts children from 7 years old and 10kg, and the tandem format means an instructor is always with younger participants. The briefing is short, the flight is two rounds inside the tunnel, and kids come out either wanting to do it again immediately or having decided skydiving isn’t for them. Both are valid outcomes.

• Address: 43 Siloso Beach Walk, Sentosa
• Entry: From $109 for a first-timer package (includes two flights)
• Best for: Adventurous kids 7 and above

17. Children’s Museum Singapore — Local Culture Made Fun

A museum specifically built around what children actually want to do rather than what adults think they should learn. The hawker centre exhibit lets kids learn about Singapore’s food heritage by staging their own stall. Other sections cover local traditions, festivals, and everyday Singapore life through play.

Free for Singaporeans and PRs. Affordable for tourists. One of the more underrated things to do with kids in Singapore for families who want something culturally meaningful without it feeling like a school trip.

• MRT: Bras Basah (CC2)
• Entry: Free for Singaporeans and PRs; $20 for tourists
• Best for: Ages 2-10, cultural learning through play

18. Sentosa Beaches and HydroDash

Siloso Beach on Sentosa is Singapore’s most accessible family beach — clean, calm water, food stalls, deck chair rental, and the Fort Siloso ruins nearby for an easy historical detour. HydroDash is an inflatable water park floating just off Siloso Beach where kids can run, jump, and fall off things into the sea. It’s exactly what it sounds like and kids love it.

The walk from VivoCity to Siloso Beach via Sentosa is free during the day. Budget accordingly for HydroDash and any rides.

• Getting there: Sentosa Express from VivoCity (free during day)
• HydroDash: From ~$20/person; check current rates
• Best for: Active kids, water lovers, full beach days

19. Pulau Ubin Day Trip — Singapore’s Last Village

A 10-minute bumboat ride from Changi Point Ferry Terminal takes you to a different Singapore — dirt paths, wild boars roaming the roads, bicycles for rent, mangrove walks, and the quiet of an island that hasn’t changed much since the 1960s.

Kids who’ve spent the whole trip in air-conditioned attractions often find Pulau Ubin the most memorable day. Rent bicycles for the family, explore the Chek Jawa wetlands, eat at the small restaurant near the jetty. No major attractions. Just space and nature.

• Bumboat: From Changi Point Ferry Terminal; ~$4/person each way
• Bicycles: From ~$5–10/day rental on the island
• Best for: Active families, nature lovers, a break from structured tourism

20. Free Water Playgrounds — All Over the City

Singapore has dozens of free water play areas across different neighbourhoods, and most parents who’ve been here for more than a week know which one is closest to them. The Far East Organization Children’s Garden at Gardens by the Bay is the most famous. The rooftop water playground at Tampines 1 Mall is animal-themed. Canberra Cove in the North-East and Yew Tee Lifestyle Corridor in the West both opened recently.

On a hot afternoon when the plan has fallen apart and everyone just needs to cool down, a free water playground saves the day every time.

• Admission: Free at most locations
• What to bring: Swimmers, a change of clothes, a towel
• Tip: Most have sheltered areas for parents to sit while kids play

Quick Guide: Matching Activities to Ages

Practical Tips for Families in Singapore

Timing matters. Most outdoor activities are best done before 10am or after 4pm. Singapore heat between noon and 3pm is real and affects younger children fast.

Book in advance. Universal Studios, Night Safari, and the Science Centre Dino exhibition all sell out on peak weekends. Booking online is always cheaper too.

MRT is your friend. Almost everything on this list is accessible by MRT. Grab an EZ-Link card on arrival and teach older kids how to use it — they usually love the independence.

One big activity per day. The temptation is to pack the itinerary. Kids do better with one main thing, lunch, one secondary thing, and time to breathe. Singapore days stretch long if you try to rush them.

Akasa for dinner. After a day at Mandai or Sentosa, a family dinner somewhere that handles children well makes the whole day feel complete. The family dinner Singapore page on Akasa’s site covers group bookings and what’s available for families specifically.

For the full picture on Indian family dining in Singapore, the best Indian restaurants Singapore blog post on Akasa’s site is worth a look before you plan your evenings.